Fire Down Below
by Tulsa Tease
Summary: After surviving the streets of New York and coming to Tulsa with his spirit and pride still intact, can Dallas Winston survive the onslaught of a red-haired temptress who rocks his soul or will she haunt him until the day he dies? Pre-Book
1. Darla

**Disclaimer: SE Hinton owns The Outsiders. I have secret relations with the rest.**

**Summary: **Before Tulsa, there was New York. Before Sylvia, there was a red-haired temptress who rocked his soul. Can Dallas Winston survive the onslaught of a woman as easily as he did New York or will she haunt him until the day he dies?

**Fire Down Below**

**Chapter One:**

Dallas Winston swiped the white-blond hair back away from his eyes when boisterous laughter echoed from the dining area behind him. Lifting his eyes from his coffee cup, he scanned the small diner using the large mirror that covered the wall on the opposite side of the counter and his attention was drawn to the shapely figure of a waitress as she laughed again at something one of the booth's occupants said to her. She had to be a new worker here since he'd never seen her before and he was in here almost every day around this time. The other gals that took orders in this dive were either brunette or brassy blonde so this one had caught his attention right off just by being different from the others in her coloring.

A predatory gleam flared in his ice blue eyes as he watched her toss her dark red hair back over her shoulders and spin around to head in his direction with the men's orders, his gaze shifting down to the slight sway of her hips in the tight pink and white uniform she wore as she drew closer. She was definitely a new worker here. None of the other waitresses had the same slinky walk as this one did or he would've noticed them long before now. He always did have a thing for red hair. There was just something about it that hinted at abandon and fiery passion in the owner of such vivid hair that appealed to the animal in him on a baser level.

His breath caught in his throat when he raised his gaze to find her staring back at him in the mirror with a knowing light in her eyes and he fought the urge to look away. Instead he held her stare as she moved around him to slide behind the counter, their eyes locked in the reflection while she ripped the order sheet from her pad and slid it under one of the clips at the grill counter. _Are they blue or are they green? _He wondered to himself, the distance still too great for him to discern the color of her eyes. _With that hair, they must be green._

He turned his attention to the lukewarm coffee in his cup when the redhead broke their staring contest as a rowdy group of teenagers entered the diner and commandeered a booth in another section of the diner. The aura of self-confidence and knowledge that surrounded her intrigued him just as much as it aroused him and he wondered what it would be like to shake that appearance of calm control in one moment of animal lust.

"Can I get you a refill, sir?" The husky voice was followed by a low chuckle when Dallas' hand hit the side of his coffee cup, sending it spinning in the saucer and sloshing the contents onto the white counter top. "Or maybe a napkin?"

Dallas lifted the cup and saucer as she swiped up the spill with a counter rag, a smirk tilting his lips. "You can get me something, darling, but refills and napkins ain't what I had in mind," he drawled, waiting on the usual gasp of outrage his propositions got him from the other waitresses.

"Oh yeah?" A sparkle made the woman's hazel eyes light up as she looked up from mopping the spill to meet his hard gaze. "I think you would have more luck with a napkin, sweetie."

His eyes widened slightly at the innuendo in her reply and he clamped his jaw tight to keep from laughing. This chick was going to be harder to crack than the others had been but the excitement came from the thrill of the chase anyway so expending a little more energy and charm wasn't going to kill him. "You're new here, aint you?"

She dropped the coffee soaked rag into something behind the counter and leaned over to rest her arms on the counter top just inches from his cup, a wicked light in her eyes as she watched his eyes move to where her uniform gaped open a little to reveal a hint of her breasts as they rested on her arms. "Nah. I usually work the day shift but Mike needed me on nights since Kathy and Clara both quit at the same time."

"Didn't think I seen you here before," Dallas confirmed, his eyes moving from the creamy skin showing above her uniform to meet her amused stare. "Why don't we blow this place when you get off your shift and go for a real drink, baby?"

"I don't know you from Adam, honey," the waitress said in a teasing tone, her eyes traveling from his face to the lean muscles that showed through his shirt. Her gaze moved back to his face and she raised one hand to twirl a red lock of hair around her finger absently "What makes you think I would just take off with some kid I don't know shit about?"

"I ain't no kid." A wolfish grin crossed his lips as he leered at the front of her uniform again pointedly. "And you sure do like to advertise yourself a lot, doll."

If he was expecting her to blush, he was sadly disappointed. Instead she gave him a sultry look before rising back up into her upright position behind the counter and looking down at him with a faint smirk on her own lips that almost mirrored his earlier expression. "My name is Darla," she informed him in a lower, huskier tone that he took to mean she was entertaining the idea of his proposal. "Not darling, not baby, and most definitely _not_ doll."

"I'm Dallas," he stated while watching the different emotions flicker in her expressive eyes. "Dallas Winston." He leaned forward on the counter a little and stared insolently at the swells of her breasts filling out the front of the pink cloth. "Where'd you get a square name like Darla," he drawled, lifting his eyes to meet her calm gaze. "A chick like you shouldn't have no frigid name like Dar-luh."

An unladylike snort escaped her as she stepped back from the counter and picked her order pad back up. "My mom was a big fan of The Little Rascals when I was born." Her eyes twinkled again and he wondered stupidly if they were more green than brown. She gave him a broad wink and stepped around the counter to wait on the customers that had just come into the diner and seated themselves in her section. "I got customers to see to, sweetie."

A slight shiver ran through him when she hesitated near his shoulder and leaned close enough for him to breathe her scent, the mingling odors of french fries, strawberries, and another more musky smell underlying it all making his groin tighten uncomfortably as her breath tickled his ear.

"Guess I oughta be glad she didn't name me Spanky, " she whispered mischievously before pulling away and swaying toward the now crowded booth near the back of her section.

He laughed outright this time as her words penetrated the fog in his brain from her sensual movements and he understood the innuendo beneath her seemingly innocent words. Darla hadn't taken him up on his offer like a common slut would but … she hadn't turned him down either. He glanced back over his shoulder and zeroed in on where Darla was laughing and joking with the people in the booth as she wrote down their orders.

The tightness in his nether regions grew more intense when her knowing eyes strayed to his and she let her tongue slide out from between her lips a little, the deep pink tip of it moving over her bottom lip provocatively. With a low growl, he shoved the cup and saucer back from him and slid off the counter stool, hoping he could get out of the diner before any wiseass noticed that he now had three legs instead of two and he had to bust someone's head open. Not that he wouldn't welcome a fight right now. The release of the built up tension would certainly be something he could use to his own advantage even if it was just in a brawl.

As he pushed the exit door open with the heel of his hand, he glanced back over his shoulder at the red-haired woman still engrossed in entertaining her customers as she took their orders and smirked. It would take some wooing to get this one on her back but something told him it would be well worth the effort.

**Please take the time to review if you expended the time to read this. Any suggestions on improvement will be taken seriously.**

**A big thank you to Crazy for betaing this for me and not riding my ass too much about the content. :-)**


	2. The Pursuit

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. I do have secret relations with the others though.**

**A/N: **_Due to the confusion my summary seems to have caused among the readers, I have changed it to better suit the intentions of this story. This does take place in Tulsa and Dallas is 16 years old. The original summary was meant to be a comparison of his life changes and was in no way intended to confuse. Sorry for the mix up._

**Chapter Two: The Pursuit**

Dallas took another draw from his cigarette and shot the front doors of the diner a dark look. He let his impatience show only in the tense stance he'd adopted in leaning against the side of the building and in the jerky movement he used to flick his ashes from the end of the Kool he was puffing on. To anyone passing by the place he would be almost invisible as he blended into the shadows cast by the diner lights as they cascaded from the large windows out onto the dark Tulsa street. He'd chosen this spot for just such a reason since the nearest streetlight was half a block away at the deserted bus stop and he could have an unobstructed view of the diner's front and side doors in case his prey decided to take the less conspicuous way out of her work environment.

_Where the hell is she? They closed up almost an hour ago so what the fuck is keeping her?_ Shifting his position against the hard bricks at his back, he flipped his cigarette into the street and hooked his thumbs into the loops of his jeans. He'd not been able to get Darla out of his mind over the past couple of days no matter how hard he tried so he'd finally decided to have another go at her and see if he could exorcise the memory of the fiery redhead once and for all by attempting one more assault on her defenses. Something about the way she had teased him back had managed to catch his attention more than if she had went through the disgusted routine like the others had done.

The soft tinkling of a bell pulled him from his musing as a familiar, husky voice called out, "I'll catch you all tomorrow. It's almost time for my ride and I have no desire to walk home in the dark."

Pushing away from the building, Dallas watched with anticipation as his quarry stepped out onto the sidewalk and allowed the diner door to shut behind her. A tightness squeezed his chest as he followed her slow, swaying walk away from the safety of her work place and drew closer to where he was waiting. The bright pink of her uniform was softened in the dim light shining from inside the diner as she crossed in front of the windows and the reddish lights in her hair reflecting the glow.

It was now or never.

"Hiya, doll," he drawled in a low tone as she drew almost even with him, satisfied when she jumped a little and her pocketbook slipped from her grasp to plop on the sidewalk. "Goin' my way?"

The startled expression on her face when she turned to peer into the shadows at him reminded him strongly of the deer him and Tim Shepard had almost run down one night while they were out joy riding in a stolen Ford. It had just stood there hypnotized by the headlights until Tim had flipped them off for a few seconds and had bounded off in the moments before he turned them back on, only its white ass visible as it leaped the ditch and ran hell for leather across the field.

Recovering quickly, Darla rested one palm against her chest and forced a weak smile on her lips as her hazel eyes locked onto his amused gaze. "Dallas, right?"

A smirk curved his lips upward and he nodded, a slight dip of his head to let her know she had guessed right. "So you do remember me, eh?"

Darla chuckled softly and smiled nervously as he joined her in the center of the sidewalk. "I would be surprised if anyone ever forgot your name," she admitted in her throaty voice. "Dallas ain't exactly a common name round here."

Bending over, he snagged her purse in his hand and straightened back up to hold it out to her in one fluid motion, ignoring the dizziness such a movement caused and cursing himself for having those beers earlier to steady himself for the confrontation. "You always go dropping things when a man speaks to you, doll?"

"Only when they accost me from a dark alley," she retorted, jerking a little when her fingers brushed his hand as she accepted the offered pocketbook. She mimicked his smirk and tucked the purse securely under one arm. "Besides … you ain't a man."

Dallas was momentarily distracted by the unexpected tingle that shot through his hand and into his arm at the light touch of her fingers but quickly recovered his composure. No way was he going to let her know that she had any effect on him beyond the simple animal longing of lust. "I'm eighteen," he lied with the smooth practice of all his sixteen years of coercing what he wanted from a woman. "That's a man, babe."

She cast a sideways glance at him as he fell into step beside her when she continued her trek toward the corner. "Really?" When he nodded, she sighed and shook her head. "So young still."

"Only in years," he countered, something dark rising in him despite his unwillingness to let it out. Shoving the unwanted emotions back down, he swiped the blond strands of hair out of his eyes. "How old are you?"

Darla laughed unexpectedly, her eyes dancing with mirth in the streetlight as they reached the bus stop. "You sure don't know much about women, do you, honey?" She laughed again when he just stared at her steadily. Sitting down on the bench, she crossed her legs primly and looked up at him. "You never … and I mean _never_ … ask a girl her age. Those are fighting words to any female over the age of fifteen."

"Is that some kinda rule among broads?" Dallas propped one foot on the edge of the bench almost against her leg and leaned his forearm on his thigh, bending slightly so he could see her face better in the yellowish glow of the streetlight. "Or is it just another fucking way of letting us men know we ain't suppose to know everything about you chicks?"

Her eyebrows arched slightly at his use of such a vulgar word as 'fucking' and he felt a knot growing in his stomach as he realized his blunder in using the word in the presence of a respectable lady. "Broads? Chicks?" She tilted her head to one side and studied his face intently. "You don't have a very high opinion of females, do you, Dallas?"

He released the breath he'd been unconsciously holding when she chose to ignore his rude wording and shrugged. "Never had a reason to." His eyes narrowed a little as he met her calm gaze, something deep inside him wanting to shake that coolness she surrounded herself with. "Chicks are only useful three times in my book … bedtime, dinner time, and beer time."

Darla's eyes filled with something resembling tears in the silence that followed his admission but was soon revealed to be hilarity as she suddenly burst into laughter, almost doubling up on the bench as her peals of amusement echoed up and down the empty street. "Oh G-God, " she gasped, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she tried to get herself under control again. "Y-You are something else, Dallas."

Before he could say anything else, a low rumbling approached them from the opposite end of the street and Darla wiped her leaking eyes with the back of her hand. "There's my ride." She gathered her purse and jacket from the bench beside her and stood up. "It's been a riot, kiddo, but its time for me to go home now."

Dallas stepped back as she brushed past him to walk toward the bus as it came to a stop near by, the loud hiss of the brakes precluding anything he could've said as the doors banged open to allow her to mount the steps. Watching her disappear into the bus sent an unexpected feeling of loss through him that he didn't quite understand, and unconsciously moved him toward the still open doors without a clue as to why he was following her. _Maybe I can get invited in for a coffee or something, _he reasoned with himself as he climbed the metal steps of the bus. A pleased smirk tilted his lips once again. _The 'or something' would be well worth a ride on this filthy bus to parts unknown._

His gaze focused on Darla as he reached the driver, ignoring the sneer he was getting from the man behind the wheel as he zoomed in on his prey once again. She had chosen to sit in the middle of the empty bus instead of seeking the safety of the seats closest to the driver and this was okay with him. It would afford more privacy from the man who was now clearing his throat loudly and glaring pointedly at the fare box.

"Fuck off," he growled at the driver as he continued past him with nothing more than a dark glare, moving purposefully toward where Darla was settling into her seat. He knew the man wouldn't cause a scene this late in the evening and certainly not with someone like him. As the bus pulled away from the curb, he plopped down in the seat beside Darla and slouched down a little, turning to grin at her startled face. "Goin' my way?"

The shock melted into a wary smile before she turned to stare straight ahead once again, a tenseness in her posture that wasn't there before he sat down. "I guess I am."

"So have you worked at Mike's long?" he asked in an attempt to regain the flow of their conversation from earlier. "I know most of the chicks working there."

"Almost a year," she answered softly, her fingers gripping her purse tight enough to make her knuckles white. It was obvious she was uncomfortable with his presence on the bus and he wondered if maybe he had taken it too far by cornering her in this way.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes."

He lapsed into silence at her monotone reply and settled for studying her profile instead of making conversation. Her hair was just as enticingly red as he remembered it being from their first encounter and he fought the urge to reach out and touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked. _That would make her jump out the window to get away from me._

It felt like an eternity before the bus finally pulled up to the curb in a run down neighborhood on the north side of Tulsa and came to a jerky halt, the doors banging open. Darla turned from the window to meet his gaze with emotionless hazel eyes. "This is my stop," she informed him quietly, waiting on him to move so she could escape.

"Oh." Dallas slid from the seat and stepped back to allow her to exit, following her up the aisle with his eyes glued to the sway of her hips. He had no idea how he was going to get her to invite him inside and it seemed like a lost cause now that she was all tensed up and leery of his intentions. He was yanked from his musings when Darla stumbled a little on the bottom step and his hand shot out to grip her arm just above her elbow before he even had time to think about it.

"Watch it, Darla," he teased as he held onto her while she recovered her balance enough to step onto the sidewalk below. "You don't wanna go kissing pavement with those lovely lips, do you?"

She pulled free from his grip when he joined her on the sidewalk and turned to smile faintly up at him. "Thank you, and no I don't. I happen to like my teeth right where they are." As the bus pulled away from the curb, she glanced back over her shoulder at the six-story building behind her. "This is where I live."

Dallas raised his eyes from her face and studied the building. "Nice place. You live alone?" He was hoping she would catch the hint and invite him inside but no such luck was with him tonight.

"No, Frankie lives with me."

Something dropped inside him as her words sunk in. _Frankie?_ She had a fucking boyfriend that lived with her! All of his plans for seduction were for nothing. As unheard of as it was in Tulsa for a woman to have a man living with her, he had to choose the one female that did shack up to be the object of his current lust. Trying to keep the strain and anger out of his voice, he asked, "Frankie?"

Darla's eyes lit up suddenly and she nodded. "Yes. Frankie is my cat." Her eyes widened in understanding as she stared at him and a snort escaped her. "You didn't think …" She laughed outright then, the tension leaving her as she put a hand on his forearm lightly to steady herself. " You actually thought I was living with a man, Dallas?"

Suddenly feeling stupid, Dallas avoided her amused gaze and looked past her shoulder at the building. "I figured a broad like you wouldn't be alone."

"How flattering," she retorted, a playful frown wiping the smile from her lips. "Or is it?" Without waiting on his answer, she pulled her hand back from his arm. "It's getting late. I better go inside."

"Yeah." He watched her walk up the steps to the front door of the building, knowing that he wasn't going to get any more out of her tonight than what he'd already been given. But somehow he didn't feel like the trip had been a waste of his time. "G'night, Darla," he called out to her as she pushed the door open.

Darla hesitated a few seconds before turning to fix him with a genuine smile that send a spiral of longing through him. "Goodnight, Dallas."

The soft bang of the door closing behind her was like the clanging of a jail cell slamming shut. He stayed standing there staring up at the building for a few minutes, his eyes scanning the windows above him as he waited.

A thrill of satisfaction filled him when a light popped on in the second window on the third floor. Now he knew where she lived in the building. Just having this information made him feel a little better about his pursuit of the redhead.

Turning away, he flipped the collar of his leather jacket up against the slight breeze that was growing chilly with the onset of late evening and trudged down the sidewalk back the way the bus had brought him. He was a long ways from where he stayed but he could always find a warm couch at the Curtis house since they were only a few blocks over from Darla's place.

**Please take the time to review if you read this. I am open to any suggestions on improvement.**

**Thank you to Crazy for betaing this for me and not giving me heck over the content. Love ya, babe!**


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